The body of five-year-old Robbie Reiner has been found in the Nith River south of New Hamburg.
His remains were found shortly after noon Tuesday near the Haysville bridge.
Police and volunteers had periodically searched the Nith for Robbie Reiner since the five-year-old went missing from his New Hamburg home on Boxing Day.
Ice and fast currents made it difficult for searchers to navigate the river and see what was underwater, but conditions had begun to improve in recent weeks.
Waterloo Regional Police say two people were conducting a private search on Tuesday when they made their discovery.
“One was an off-duty police officer. The second was just a regular community member here, volunteering his time,” said Staff Sgt. Shaena Morris.
From the beginning, it was believed Reiner wandered onto the ice-covered river and fell through.
Some of his clothes were found discarded along the riverbank at the outset of the search.
The remainder of the clothes he was wearing at the time were still on him when he was found, police say.
A post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place Wednesday in Hamilton.
